Record changing mechanism for phonographs



May 2, 1950 E. WENNERBO RECORD CHANGING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 31, 1944 1NVENT0R. fw/r WENNEEEO ATTOK I y 1950 v E. WENNERBO 2,506,555

RECORD CHANGING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS Filed July 31, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. [SK/A WEN/YL- BO ATTOIZN EY-$ fatented May 2,

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Erik Wennerbo, .Motaia, Sweden, assignor .to Industriaktiebolaget Lux'or, Motala, Sweden, ;.a corporation of Sweden Application July 31, 1944; Serial No. 547,365

In'Swedeii August 3, 1943 ing the magazi-ned records :in their initial .position in the magazine during the displacement and release of the bottom-most irecord therefrom. Hitherto such means generally comprised .a cranked or offset central post projecting -.upwardly-i-rom the turntable, the sequence. of rec- OI'dStO be played-being threadediin stacked formation on said post and supported by theoffset thereof. The-dispensation {with a centralpost of this nature will, however, ia'cilitate the handling of the "phonograph. It-is obviously much more convenient to load themagazinebywplacing: the sequence of records in container. fitting to the records than tothrea'dzthemone byone-onto a post. The difficult'y encountered when constructing such a device is,zhowever, "to-provide an effecti've-sto'p meansthatwill prev'ent'lthe lateral displacement of all rec'ords in the magazine 1 except-the botto'mmost one. during a record changing' operation. This'diffieulty isegreatlyeenhanced when it is desirous that the phonograph .shall be able to play a sequence of records of various sizes; besides this,- considerationi'nust be given to thefactthat'not all recordsa're-plane, it sometimes occurring that records .are somewhat warped owing to undue exposure to heat.

"It is an *object of the invention to {provide means for overcoming these difiiculties.- The invention' comprises a lateral stop means-positioned in alignment with the direction of displacement of the bottommost record in the magazine and adaptedto permit a lateral displacementand release of the 'saidbottommost record, but at the same time impede a displacement of atleast the bottommost record-but one in the magazine. The main characterizing feature ofvthe invention is that the stop means isadaptedtocoact -with a member, which under the' 'influence of resilient pressure derived from a spring or thelik'e is normally held in such apositionthat one end-there of will abut the underside of the-bottommost recordin'the magazine, the'other endthereof being normally held at'asubstantially constant distance above the upper surface of the-'bottommost' record-in the magazine.

So that the inventionmay be easily understood vrecla ms. (01. 274-) and readily putiinto. efiec't-a: preferred formetheree of will nowsbe described .-for illustrativeipurposes only, reference being 1 had to the i. accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. lis a diagrammatic planaview of the meche anism accordingto'th'e;invention,

Fig. 2.-is a diagrammatic sideview; of same,

Fig. 3' is a similarview tozFig. 12, showingam other operative position Offthe mechanism,

Fig. L is a. diagrammatic-sideview of a1 modified form of the lateralistop-means according tothe invention,

Fig 5 shows-the samemechanism assho'wn in Fig.4, but. as seen"fromaabovaiand Fig. 61 is a diagram-matic-side Viewv ofamodified form of :the invention.

i lith I reference now-i: to the. drawings:

The reference numeral 1|" representsa batchor sequence of records=to.be;p1ay.ed. 'Thebatch -I is supported by three support members 2,,;3 and i, the s'upporting.members-2andxiibeing carried by standards 5 and 6, respectively,projecting up= rightly from the bottom plateof the phonograph, not shown in the drawings. The supporting member 4 comprises al central postvp'rojecting 11p- Wardly from the c'entre ofathexturntable of the phonograph, 7 said post being adapted to revolve with. theturntab1e or-.:to lee-motionless. The batch i of records is i guided laterally :by three :guide members 1,18 -.andj:9, of which ;the-,mem-bers 1 and 8 comprise rounded. off,conesaprojecting'upwardly from standards 5- and fifirespectively. Themem her 9 is supported by a third standard 10 mounted on thenbottomiplateof the-phonograph, not shown. Theiguidemember 9 does not extend to theibottommost;recordin;the magazine. -Ac= cording to the invention-there is: below. the member t a suitablysha-ped, movable lateral :sto'p means ii (.see:Fig.-.2). Theilateral stop ll is mounted on a pivot pin Rolando-elongated iorvproeviding an extension ii'j3. 'lheilateral :stop 1 I and its extension i3 are=rbtatab1eaboutflthe pin l2 and rotate in aslot M provide'd'in thestandard H]. The 1ate1-a1stopi I and'its' extension l3 are under thecontrol o'f-.a spiral springiifi which is positioned in an enlargement 1150i the slot :14

provided about the-pin i2. 'This spring tends-to rotate the step! ianticlockwise, so thatthe extensionlS will engage the-underside of the'bot tommost record in the magazine wit-haslightiree silient pressure as" 'WiII-beapparent from Fig; 2. Thereby the end of the lateral ab'utmentll will normally alwaysbe situated aconstant distance above'the plane; ofthe upper side of thesaid lowermost record, even thoughs'uch a record m'ay be somewhat warped owing to undue exposure to the heat of the sun or the like. When there is no record on the supporting members, the lateral stop I I will be rotated to such an extent clockwise by the spiral spring 26 as permitted by the lim iting surface It of the slot I4. Through the standards and B extend rotatable shaft members I! and I8 respectively. Each of these shafts I1 and I8, respectively, is provided immediately above the support 2 with a wing member I9 and 20 respectively, the wing members being adapted to displace the bottommost record in the magazine laterally towards the left on rotation of the shafts I! and I8. The wings I9 and 20 are movable in recesses 2| and 22, respectively, provided in the conical guide members 1 and 8, respectively.

The above described mechanism operates in the following manner:

When the phonograph is to be loaded, records are placed in the container or magazine, whose bottom comprises the supporting members 2, 3 and 4, and whose sides comprise the guide members 1, 8 and 9. The mechanism then assumes the appearance illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. When a new record is to be deposited onto the turntable, the shaft members I1 and I8 are rotated by the intermediary of record changing mechanism (not shown in the drawings)-shaft I'I anti-clockwise and shaft I8 clockwise-whereby the wings I9 and 20 displace the bottommost record in the magazine toward the left until the central hole therein reaches the central post 4 and the edge thereof simultaneously leaves the support members 2 and 3. The record will then glide down the central post 4 onto the turntable (not shown). On displacement of the record to the left, the left hand edge of the record will pass underneath the lateral stop II. The left hand stop member however obstructs the passage of the bottommost record but one, so that the latter cannot accompany the bottommost record on its lateral travel. When dropping from the magazine to the turntable the record retains engagement with the member I3, and rotates the latter and the lateral stop II about the pin I2 against the action of the spiral spring 25 disposed about the said pin. Fig. 3 shows the relatlve positions of the magazine andthe various parts of the mechanism during a record changing operation immediately. before the member I3 slips outof contact with the left hand edge of the record.

When a falling record reaches the turntable the lateral stop II and the member I3 are urged back into normal position .(Fig. 2) by their spring. The wings I9 and 20, which during the fall of the record have assumed the position shown in Fig. 3, are returned to the position shown in Fig.2 by record changing mechanism, not shown in the drawings, whereby the sequence of records in the magazine, which during the falling Of the record was supported by the wings I9 and 28 and the central post 4 (Fig. 3), again falls onto the support members 2 and 3. All members have thus returned to the position shown in Fig. 2, and the next record changing operation may take place in a manner analogous to that described above, as soon as the changed record has been com pletely played. e

When all records in the magazine have been played, they may be removed by lifting them in such a manner that their right hand edge first comes above the supports 2 and. 3, .until the central holeof the records has left the central post i 4. It is also possible to mount the central post 4 detachably for facilitating the removal of the records.

By arranging the members 9, II and I3 movable in an upward direction one may, however, enable the records to be lifted straight up, when they are to be removed.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a mechanism modified for this purpose. In this modification of the inventlon the standard In is provided with two slots I4and 23. Within the one slot I4 the lateral stop I I and its extension I3 are rotatably mounted about a, pin I2. A spiral spring 26 retains the lateral stop when not in contact with a record, in such a position in which it is turned somewhat in anti-clockwise direction from the position it assumes when a sequence of records is placed on the supports provided therefor. From this latter position the lateral stop I I and the extension I3 may be rotated both clockwise and anti-clock wise. In the other slot 23 the guide member 28 is rotatably mounted on a pin 24. The member 28 is held in such a normal position by a spring 27 that the underside of the member 28 will abut a pin 25 provided on the standard II). Figs. 4 and 5 show the position of the members of the mechanism at that moment when a sequence of records is about to be lifted from the turntable (not shown). At the moment illustrated in the drawings, the lateral stop II and the extension I3 have been urged aside by the batch of records I, whilst the member 28 is just about to be swung back. When the batch of records is removed, both the member 28 and the lateral stop II are drawn back to their respective normal positions by their respective spiral springs 26 and 21.

During the falling of the record onto the turntable, the member I3 exercises a retarding effect on the left hand side of the record. The record is therefore always prone to fall onto the turntable in an askew or inclined position, which might cause a noisier engagement of the falling record and the turntable or the record already on the turntable than if the record were allowed or caused to retain its horizontal positionwhilst falling. In order to counteract such a tendency, the central pin 4 (see Fig. 6) may incline towards the left hand side of the record or towards that point in which the member I3 and the lateral stop I I are positioned. The record will then have a tendency to fall with its left hand edge foremost, which tendency, however, will be balanced or neutralized by the retarding effect of the member I3. In this case the central pin 4 must obviously be fixed, i. e., not be rotatable withthe turntable. I I a ..If a phonograph according to the inventionis to be used for the changing of records of various diameters, the standards 5, 6 and I must be movable, so that they may be adjusted to various distances from the point of the central pin 4 according to the various sizes of the records. A common adjusting member adjustable to definite positions is then preferably provided. 4

The mechanism according to the invention may advantageously be used for automatically stopping the phonograph when all records in the magazine have been played. For this purpose themember I3 is adapted to assume a somewhat higher position when there are no records on the supports than when actuated by a record. When all the records in the magazine have been played, the member is urged into this higher position. Thereby it may be caused to actuate any well formation in a magazine over the turntable and "{in which the bottommost record in the magazine 1s :la'terally displacedin the course of every record bhanging operation and therebysreleased fromthe magazine and dropped onto the turntable, in combina'tion, an 'r'ipstanding-su'pport; a pin car- -r ied by said support, an asymmetric crescent member rotatably mounted intermediate its ends on said pin, spring means for normally retaining said asymmetric crescent member with its recess facing the record magazine and in such a position that the lower end of said crescent memher will normally abut the underside of thesaid bottommost record and thereby hold the upper end thereof just above the upper surface of said bottommost record in the magazine, so that the upper end will permit a lateral displacement of said bottommost record into said recess but prevent-a lateral-displacement of the record above said bottommost record, stationary abutment means for limiting the rotation of said spring actuated crescent member when the magazine is empty, a second pin carried by said support and positioned adjacent the perimeter of the batch of records in the magazine and extending substantially at right angles to the axis of said batch of records, a guide member extending inwardly to a point substantially above the upper tip of said crescent member in its normal position with the records in the magazine and mounted for rotation on said second pin, a stop for said guide member, and spring means for urging said guide member against said stop therefor.

2. In an automatic record changing mechanism for phonographs in which a sequence of records to be deposited one at a time onto the turntable of the phonograph are supported in stacked formation in a stationary magazine over the turntable and in which the bottommost record in the magazine is laterally displaced in the course of every record changing operation and thereby released from the magazine and dropped onto the turntable, in combination, a support at one side of the magazine, a lateral stop member pivotally carried by the support about a horizontal axis and permitting lateral displacement of said bottommost record but preventing displacement of at least the record above said bottommost record in the magazine, and said lateral stop member having means contacting the underside of the lowermost record in the magazine to settle the position of the lateral stop member in order to hold said member at a substantially constant distance above the upper surface of the undermost record in the magazine.

3. In an automatic record changing mechanism for phonogr-aphs in which a sequence of records to be deposited one at a time onto the turntable of the phonograph are supported in stacked formation in a stationary magazine over the turntable and in which the bottommost recand iinithefi: magazine is laterallydisplaced-ductile *cours'e :rofi every record changing-operation rand itlrereby ire'leased from theimagazinezand dropped -in g the records in the magazine, J said asymmetric crescent-member being rotatablyl'mounted acn said pin at "a ointsubstantia1ly diametricallyzcp posite to said recess, and spring means for-mor inally retaining said asymmetric :crescent m'em "her with its lower tip against the underside of sa'id botto'm'most record :and thereby holding the upper tip of said cre'scent member just above th'e 'upper surface Of-said b'OttOmm'Ost record,1the1upper tip thus allowing alater'al displacement 'oi' the-bottommost irecord into said recess but preventingalateral displacementofthe record above said bottommost record, saidasymmetric crescent meinber by rotatingzagainst action of saidrspring means permitting the bottommost record to :drop onto the turntable.

'4. In an automatic record changing mechanism for phonographs in :which a sequence :of

records to-be deposited one at -a time ontozzzthe turntable of the phonograph :are supported iin stacked formation in a stationaryima'gazine over the turntable and in which the bottommost-mecord in the magazine is laterally -'clispla'cedainithe course or every record: changing opera'tionaand thereby =-released i from the" magazine and dropped onto the turntable, in combination a support at one side of the magazine, a pin carried by the support, an asymmetric crescent member arranged substantially at right angles to the plane of records and with a circular recess between the two tips of the crescent member normally fac ing the records in the magazine, said asymmetric crescent member rotatably mounted on said pin at a point substantially diametrically opposite to said recess, and spring means for normally retaining said asymmetric crescent member with its lower tip against the underside of said bottommost record and thereby holding the upper tip of said crescent member just above the upper surface of said bottommost record, the upper tip thus allowing a lateral displacement of the bottommost record into said recess but preventing a lateral displacement of the record above said bottommost record, said asymmetric crescent member by rotating against action of said spring means permitting the bottommost record to drop onto the turntable, and stationary abutment means for limiting the rotation of said spring actuated crescent member when the magazine is empty.

5. In an automatic record changing mechanism for phonographs in which a sequence 01' records to be deposited one at a time onto the turntable of the phonograph are supported in stacked formation in a stationary magazine over the turntable and in which the bottommost record in the magazine is laterally displaced in the course of every record changing operation and thereby released from the magazine and dropped onto the turntable, in combination a support at one side of the magazine, a pin carried by the support, an asymmetric crescent member arranged substantially at right angles to the plane of records and with a circular recess between the two tips of the crescent member normally facing the records in the magazine, said asymmetric :crescent member rotatably mounted on'said'pin atapoint substantially diametrically opposite to said recess, spring means for normally retaining :said asymmetric crescent member with its lower by rotating against action of said spring means permitting the bottommost record to drop onto the turntable, and stationary abutment means for limiting the rotation of said spring actuated crescent member when the magazine is empty to approximately the same position it normally assumes when the magazine is loaded.

- 6. In an automatic record changing mechanism for phonographs in which a sequence of records to be deposited one at a time onto the turntable of the phonograph are supported in stacked formation in a stationary magazine over the turntable and in which the bottommost record inthe magazine is laterally displaced in the course of every record changing operation and thereby released from the magazine and dropped onto the turntable, in combination a support at one side of the magazine, a pin carried by the support, an asymmetric crescent member arranged substantially at right angles to the plane of rec- 'ords and with a circular recess between the two tips of the crescent member normally facing the 8 records in the magazine, said asymmetric orescent member rotatably mounted on said pin at a point substantially diametrically opposite to said recess and spring means for normally retaining said asymmetric crescent member with its lower tip against the underside of said bottommost record and thereby holding the upper tip of said crescent member just above the upper surface of said bottommost record, the upper tip thus allowing a lateral displacement of the bottommost record into said recess but preventing a lateral displacement of the record above said bottommost record, said asymmetric crescentjmember by rotating against action of said spring means permitting the bottommost record to drop onto the turntable, stationary abutment means for limiting the rotation of said spring acuated crescent member when the magazine is empty, and a guide member positioned vertically above said crescent member and extending inwardly to a point substantially above the upper tip of said crescent member in'its normal position with rec,- ords in the magazine.

ERIK WENNERBO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,887,309 Kincannon Nov. 8, 1922 2,062,396 Carson Dec. 1, 1936 2,300,668 Habegger Nov. 3, 1942 

